Trickle Charger Power Consumption when not charging?

[CYYJ]

Does anyone know if a Yuasa Hotshot battery trickle charger (picture below) uses any material amount of electricity when it is plugged in but not actively charging the battery?

In winters past, I have only connected and plugged in the device once every 2 weeks, and left it plugged in for the hour or so it takes to bring the battery up to target voltage, when the 'Float' light illuminate. I then would unplug it and put it away until another 2 weeks passed.

This year, I have the opportunity to store the motorcycle in a neighbor's garage, which means it would be most convenient to just plug the thing in and leave it plugged in and connected all winter, but I don't want to do this if it results in any material increase in electricity consumption for my neighbor.

Michael

Trickle Charger in Question

 

[Bush]

I may be wrong on the internals, but wouldn't it require some form of transformer to drop the voltage and that would mean a continuous flow through one of the coils at least. If so, I'm sure the draw would be so small that it might amount to pennies a week.

 

[Gerhard]

Don’t think it is an amount that would present a financial hardship. If it used 5 watts it would amount to a kilowatt every 8 days so worst case scenario $1 a month. Before I had a smart charger I had 2 amp trickle charger that I plugged into the garage door opener light socket with an adapter, this gave the charger about 10 minutes on time a day which seemed to keep the battery charged.

 

[Kevcules]

Not sure Michael. I do the same thing and plug in for an hour every week or two. I've never left it plugged in all winter but some do. There must be some electrical draw, but less if the battery is fully charged I'm guessing.

 

[Obo]

It wouldn't use much when in the "standby mode." There'd be some voltage drop across the transformer to run the AC power and float LEDs.

Using the formula P =VI [ aka power in watts =Voltage x current in amps]
And assuming the output if 14.4v and the 900mA stated output (.9A) the total wattage use when on full and charging is only 12.96 watts.

The easiest way to tell would be to either get a plug in power meter and put it between the charger and the AC outlet and see what it draws in various states.
( something like this https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/hampton-energy-monitor-0529208p.html )

Or if you have a voltage / amperage clamp meter and a line splitter (can be bought or made DIY) you can measure the current draw of the charger and work out the wattage by solving for P (in this case P = 120v x the current you measure with the meter) You'd plug the splitter in between the charger and the wall and clamp the meter on it to read the current.


I have a different brand of chargers for both bikes (Noco Genius) and my antique car (a $15 Princess Auto float charger) and leave them on all winter without issue.

I'd think the ST would draw a bit more as the clock is "on" all the time, but still it's negligible.

 

[dwalby]

I may be wrong on the internals, but wouldn't it require some form of transformer to drop the voltage and that would mean a continuous flow through one of the coils at least. If so, I'm sure the draw would be so small that it might amount to pennies a week.

transformers will only supply what is demanded, minus small losses of course, so if the demand goes to zero the supply should go to approximately zero as well. The question I'd have is does the demand ever drop to zero, or is the battery always taking a little current all the time. Even if it is, it would be a very small amount of current once the battery voltage stabilizes. I've never used one of these things because I'm able to ride any day of the year to charge the battery that way, so I can't answer that last question about demand dropping to zero, but it shouldn't have any effect on an electric bill.

 

[ST Gui]

I'm pretty sure a couple of tenners would cover it. If it uses a transformer it will use more current than those devices that don't as there is an energy loss across the coils.

Occasionally while browsing electrical goodies such as Battery Tender® or similar products you may see a Note: Not for sale in California or Cannot be delivered to California address. This is because CA had decided some devices aren't energy efficient enough to grace our state. I bought a Tender that died and couldn't get another one for that reason. There was one that was CA legal and I got it. First thing I noticed was that it lacked a transformer or at least a much bigger one as in the original Tender Jr.

Using a Kill-A-Watt meter ($20-$30 at Amazon) would tell give you a very good idea of projected energy costs. It will be using some current all of the time and just ramp up when a maintenance or trickle charge was needed. Still if you buy your neighbor lunch or dinner that should cover the energy use. That's less significant than the fact that you have a place to winter your bike.

 

[SMSW]

I suggest you pick up a Kill-a-Watt meter or similar watt meter at your equivalent of Hopot or Amazon. These cost around $15 last time I looked. You program in your cost per kw and plug your appliance into the meter. It will then tell you the weekly, monthly, annual usage in watts, $, etc. You can then decide to buy your neighbor a bottle of wine or treat them to a meal out.

I have read that all the transformers for our electronic equipment - modems, routers, external hard drives, printers, computers, copiers, microwaves, etc. use a considerable amount of electricity nationally. Any one of these, of course, uses very little, but the aggregate is significant.

 

[klaproth]

Not trusting my Battery Minder, I always use a timer on it- I have found that 30-45 minutes , twice a day, is sufficient to keep the battery well charged. Of course, pertinent to your original question, the timer DOES use a few milliamps.

 

[Obo]

Still if you buy your neighbor lunch or dinner that should cover the energy use.

Great idea. I'll run an extension cord from his house and use his power, thus using none of my own.

 

[Bmacleod]

Just a thought Michael, why not remove the battery and keep it at home where you can monitor and charge it.